Bronson plays an ageing detective, taking on a younger by-the-book protégé. Together they must track down a mysterious serial killer who is targeting young ladies.
The naming of Alien 2: On Earth (or Sulla Terra in Italian) is obvious from a marketing point of view. A brazen attempt to pull in viewers to see this excessively cheap, subterranean rubbish.
There is no hiding my excitement for this creature feature. Having endured the disappointing Endangered Species on Netflix recently my thirst for an old fashioned, Human vs. Beast was wet, but not quenched.
It was nice to spend some time with these two again and on a new adventure. This is almost a forgotten slice of culture and taking stock over the years I realise I was a bigger fan of Beavis and Butthead than I thought.
Body Puzzle rarely entertains and even has trouble maintaining interest along the way despite some fine performances and some brief moments of violence.
Fast Money has an interesting cast with Yancy Butler, Matt McCoy, John Ashton and the late Trevor Goddard keep this from being just another direct-to-video crapfest.
Freebie and The Bean followed a simple but robust plot-line that allows for the cops to have the time for some interesting misadventures whilst the story carries on in the background.
I have a high tolerance for crap but a soft spot for this. It’s messy, ugly and hardly thrilling. However, it’s fun, interesting and full of enjoyable performances.
I had a fun time with Island of the Fishmen, or Island of Mutations, or L’isola degli uomini pesce, or the original cut of Something Waits in the Dark or Screamers, whatever you want to call it…
This is one of only a couple of Bruce Willis movies that eluded me from the 90’s and I have only now managed to take the time to watch it… and I should have left it as it was. This, is Last Man Standing.
Lethal Tender is a film that I am embarrassed to say I have seen several times. The first time, I dug it. Second I was a bit bored. Third was trash. Fourth…
Almost 30 years later I have managed to import and take in this obscure little thriller and whilst it has scratched an old itch, the film was not worth the anticipation.
Raw Justice is a simple, direct-to-video flick that is a product of its time, featuring an exceptional cast of B-Movie greats, constant action and a peppering of nudity.
Romancing the Stone is worth revisiting as a simple piece of early 80’s fun. There is a clever and quirky script. Colourful characters doted throughout. Thank-you Diane Thomas, Rest in Peace.
Seven is a bit of a treat. I really enjoyed it and not for the obvious reasons. The nudity is actually quite sparse and the action and explosions are fairly tame.
An obscure genre piece sees Whitman played Captain Jack Saitta in the oft retitled Shadows in an Empty Room featuring shadows of several other thrillers that had made an impact in the years prior.
A solid filmmaker takes his time to layer in plenty of intrigue and excitement along the way and whilst there is nothing particularly astounding in the mix, this is just a good, solid, cop thriller.
A racketeering group is operating in a village in Italy. Intimidating local business owners and subjecting resistors to barbaric violence in The Big Racket (1976)
The Cannonball Run isn’t for everyone, in fact it isn’t for most. I have a love for it as I was just the right age to soak this up. A massive gamble, and a massive win!
The Desperate Hour is a tension focused thriller centring on Naomi Watts plodding through the woods attempting to locate her son during a hostile event at nearby school.
The Devil’s Men was released in 1976 and featured a few big names, admittedly at a difficult point during their careers, this was originally released in the US The Land of the Minotaur.
The Heroin Buster (1977) has been painstakingly remastered and celebrated almost 50 years after it slipped out. Here is my review of this slice of poliziotteschi.
Really this should have had a budget of around £10 million and starred a combination of the video stars of the time. The bigger glosser look doesn’t help the film or dissuade from the lack of substance.
There is no shortage of missing in action prisoner of war movies from the 80’s, however, featuring a terrific cast and a director of note Uncommon Valour is far from your typical ‘Nam action.
I have taken a look back at the many Ray Liotta films I can remember seeing over the years.
Bronson plays an ageing detective, taking on a younger by-the-book protégé. Together they must track down a mysterious serial killer who is targeting young ladies.
The naming of Alien 2: On Earth (or Sulla Terra in Italian) is obvious from a marketing point of view. A brazen attempt to pull in viewers to see this excessively cheap, subterranean rubbish.
The second of, what I describe as, Gene Hackman’s Missing in Action trilogy following Uncommon Valour.
There is no hiding my excitement for this creature feature. Having endured the disappointing Endangered Species on Netflix recently my thirst for an old fashioned, Human vs. Beast was wet, but not quenched.
It was nice to spend some time with these two again and on a new adventure. This is almost a forgotten slice of culture and taking stock over the years I realise I was a bigger fan of Beavis and Butthead than I thought.
Blue Steel seems to have disappeared from view and recognition walking a tight line between cop thriller and psychological drama
Body Puzzle rarely entertains and even has trouble maintaining interest along the way despite some fine performances and some brief moments of violence.
An obscure and notorious nasty Brigade des moeurs or Bridge of Death is a little French thriller from 1985 with some bold moments.
A low point in everyone’s career. That is A LOT of careers.
Dashcam is worth the fuss and whilst not a landmark film it certainly is expertly crafted and plays immensely well.
Dead Bang took me by surprise and I really enjoyed discovering it. It’s a bit dated, however, it works nicely as a quality 80’s action romp.
The unavailability of Deep Space during the 90’s left me conjuring imagery in my head of what the film might be like… and I was way off.
Tom and Harlow Jane unite on screen. Is Dig (2022) worth digging into?
Exit Speed has enough action to get you through it, there just isn’t anything to write home about.
The more you think about the scenario used in Fall (2022) you realise how perfectly unique it is to generate raw terror.
Fast Money has an interesting cast with Yancy Butler, Matt McCoy, John Ashton and the late Trevor Goddard keep this from being just another direct-to-video crapfest.
Freebie and The Bean followed a simple but robust plot-line that allows for the cops to have the time for some interesting misadventures whilst the story carries on in the background.
Gung Ho is a lightweight comedy without much in the way of memorable moments. Aside from a fun , if problematic, performance from Michael Keaton.
I have a high tolerance for crap but a soft spot for this. It’s messy, ugly and hardly thrilling. However, it’s fun, interesting and full of enjoyable performances.
Hitcher in the Dark doesn’t really have too much going for it, however, it manages to stay entertaining with some bolder storytelling moments
Infinite Storm (2022) by Małgorzata Szumowska with Naomi Watts and there is something about Watts in the Winter as it struggles to engage.
I had a fun time with Island of the Fishmen, or Island of Mutations, or L’isola degli uomini pesce, or the original cut of Something Waits in the Dark or Screamers, whatever you want to call it…
This is one of only a couple of Bruce Willis movies that eluded me from the 90’s and I have only now managed to take the time to watch it… and I should have left it as it was. This, is Last Man Standing.
There is little to separate Last Seen Alive from The Vanishing or the Kurt Russell thriller Breakdown as from them being much better.
Lethal Tender is a film that I am embarrassed to say I have seen several times. The first time, I dug it. Second I was a bit bored. Third was trash. Fourth…
Roy Scheider had an incredible run of terrific movies, however, every run has to come to an end and Night Game (1989) is anything but a home run.
Almost 30 years later I have managed to import and take in this obscure little thriller and whilst it has scratched an old itch, the film was not worth the anticipation.
Phase IV is an engrossing and thought provoking horror that you should not hesitate to find and enjoy.
Raw Justice is a simple, direct-to-video flick that is a product of its time, featuring an exceptional cast of B-Movie greats, constant action and a peppering of nudity.
Romancing the Stone is worth revisiting as a simple piece of early 80’s fun. There is a clever and quirky script. Colourful characters doted throughout. Thank-you Diane Thomas, Rest in Peace.
Seven is a bit of a treat. I really enjoyed it and not for the obvious reasons. The nudity is actually quite sparse and the action and explosions are fairly tame.
An obscure genre piece sees Whitman played Captain Jack Saitta in the oft retitled Shadows in an Empty Room featuring shadows of several other thrillers that had made an impact in the years prior.
Short Time has Dabney Colman drive with complete disregard for his own personal safety, leaving a trail of carnage everywhere. Sounds incredible…
A solid filmmaker takes his time to layer in plenty of intrigue and excitement along the way and whilst there is nothing particularly astounding in the mix, this is just a good, solid, cop thriller.
Speed Zone! is given a hard time by critics, certainly a lot doesn’t work, but there is a decent amount that does.
Stacey is a fun little movie and it pains me that it is considered lost.
Stand Alone from 1985 is the great Charles Durning doing Rambo, Walking Tall and Death Wish. Sounds dark, violent and crazy… well…
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) shows potential, however, it’s loses it’s way pretty quickly.
A racketeering group is operating in a village in Italy. Intimidating local business owners and subjecting resistors to barbaric violence in The Big Racket (1976)
The Cannonball Run isn’t for everyone, in fact it isn’t for most. I have a love for it as I was just the right age to soak this up. A massive gamble, and a massive win!
The Contractor will engage you for the runtime, you will walk away fulfilled. In years to come you will struggle to remember if you have seen it.
The Desperate Hour is a tension focused thriller centring on Naomi Watts plodding through the woods attempting to locate her son during a hostile event at nearby school.
The Devil’s Men was released in 1976 and featured a few big names, admittedly at a difficult point during their careers, this was originally released in the US The Land of the Minotaur.
The biggest take away from The Getaway is that it is average entertainment and really isn’t shocking that it has been forgotten about over the years.
The Heroin Buster (1977) has been painstakingly remastered and celebrated almost 50 years after it slipped out. Here is my review of this slice of poliziotteschi.
The Jewel of the Nile is a horrible, regressive, xenophobic pile of junk that needs to be forgotten.
I found a lot to like in The Savage Three, however, initially I walked away a little cold.
Really this should have had a budget of around £10 million and starred a combination of the video stars of the time. The bigger glosser look doesn’t help the film or dissuade from the lack of substance.
The Tough Ones is one of the best known Italian “Poliziotteschi” thrillers and for good reason. Prepare yourself for a gushy blast of love from a fan
Trancers is the granddaddy of direct-to-video and a mostly successful opening to the franchise.
Following the vastly stronger third outing Trancers 4 Jack of Swords is merely a little more watchable than the second outing.
It pains me to think that such a limp approach was taken to Trancers 4 and 5 following the strength of Trancers III.
It’s time to look at Trancers 6. This time a fresh face, an attempt to revive the franchise and some humour at Deth’s expense. What could go wrong?
At first glance Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth looks to be an awesome sequel to a perfect low budget sci-fi hit. Is it?
For the second entry to suck it comes as a pleasant surprise that this follow-up manages to kick some Squid butt!
This is a fun follow-up to the original and a treat for fans. Cheap, silly, funny and inventive.
There is no shortage of missing in action prisoner of war movies from the 80’s, however, featuring a terrific cast and a director of note Uncommon Valour is far from your typical ‘Nam action.
Watcher (2022) enters into a teeming sub-genre and Watcher might just come out on top.